High splice attachment for circular knitting machines



Oct. 25, 1932. F. w. ROBINSON HIGH SPLICE ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULARKNITTING MACHINES Filed May 16, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1932. F.w. ROBINSON 1,884,253

HIGH SPLICE ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 16, 19213 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 25, 1932 F. w. ROBINSON I 1,884,253

HIGH SPLICE ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 16,1921- 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT omenFRANK W. ROBINSON, OI READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN-MENTS, TO SCXJTT AND WILLIAMS, INC 01 NEW YORK,.N. Y., A CORPORATION 01'MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SPLICE ATTACHMENT FOB CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINESApplication filed Kay 16, 1821.. Serial No. 489,788.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines having a hi h-spliceor extrathread guide finger, an my particular object is to providecontrol means adapted to 8 give any desired tapered outline to thehighspliced or reenforced portion of the kmttmg whereby the appearanceof the finished fabric is improved. The invention is fully described inconnection with the accompanyin drawin s and the novel features arepomted out in the claims.

Fig. 1 indicates, in front elevation, such portions only of a well-knowntype of knitting machine as are necessary to fully explain my invention,the needle cyllnder being shown in cross-section.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, par-ts being broken away to morefully disclose the construction.

Fig. 3 shows the arts of my attachment in cross-section on t e line 33of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 indicates a product of my improved machine. I

Referring to the drawings, 5 represents the usual high-splicethread-guide finger which is normally spring pressed to the loweredneedle-engaging position shown and is raised to the non-engagingposition indicated in dotted lines by a lever 6 connected by a rod 7 toa pattern-controlled lever 8 as usual. Heretofore during the highsplicing opera- -tion, this finger 5 has been intermittently lowered andraised re atedly alike for each revolution of the nee le cylinder 10, soas to engage the reenforcing thread with a determined number only of thecircular series of needles 12 to enforced fabric. In my improvedconstruc-v tion I provide for varyingly lowering and raising the finger5 in successive revolutions of the needle cylinder so as tocorrespondingly vary the width of the reenforced fabric to produce animproved ornamental effect by taperingthe reenforcement; this variationin the operation of the finger 5 being automatically accomplished asshown in the drawings, by the following mechanism Mounted in the machineframe are two short shafts, and 30, the lower one being supported inbearings 21, 21 and carrying a roduce. a uniform width of recam drum 22.The upper shaft 30 is mounted in bearings 31, 31 fastened to the table32 and is'partly screw-threaded at 33 as shown, to engage atravelling-nut member 34. The shaft 20 is driven from the main shaft 23of the machine through a train of gears 24, 25, 26, 27 so as to berotated with the same speed as the needle cylinder-10; and the shaft 30is rotated, from shaft 20 by gears 28 and 35. The travelling-nut member34 has a downward extension 36 forming a rocker arm arranged to rideupon the cam drum 22, and an upwardly inclined extension 37 which restsupon and travels along the up er stralght edge 38 of a bar 39, whichlatter as nturned ends 40, 40 pivoted at 41, 41 to proecting ears 42',42 of the bearings 31, 31; while a spring pressed finger 43 pivotallycarried by extension 37 normally maintains the bar in contact with thelatter. A rearwardly projecting arm 44 from the bar 39 is adapted topress upon a ledge 45 fastened to the connecting rod 7 to depress thelatter and raise the guide finger 5 to inoperative position each timethe travelling-nut member 34 is rocked by its arm 36'. Thistravelling-nut member is used in connection with an uppernut member 3411which is alone threaded to engage the screw-threaded portion 33 of shaft30, and has one end pivotally connected at 46 to the lower nut member 34while its .projecting other end 47 rests upon the straight upper edge ofa front bar 48, which latter has inturned ends 50, 50 pivotally carriedby ears 52, 52 of the bearings 31, 31. A link 53 pivotally connects thebar 48 to a pattern a'ctuated lever 54 which latter periodically rockssaid bar upon its'pivots 51, 51 to open the parted nut 34 against theclosing action of a spring 55; and when inthis open position a spring 56moves the nut 34 in a reverse direction to the movement imparted by thescrew-threaded shaft 30. A reduced portion 30" of the shaft 30 acts as alock for the travelling nut-half 34, into which the latter falls at theend of its screw actuated movement to remain fixed in this positionuntil releas by the pattern actuated lever 54 to the reverse movement ofthe spring 56. The cam 22 has a depressed surface 57 with divergingsides 58, 58 as shown, into which depression the end of the rocker arm36 falls at each revolution of the drum; the narrow end 59 limiting thelowered needle engaging position of the guide finger 5 to a minimumnumber of needles as indicated, but. the number engaged beingprogressively increased as the travelling nut 34-34 causes the rockerarm to move lengthwise of the drum. When the nut 3434 has moved to theend of the screw-threaded portion 33 of shaft 30 and nut-half 34 fallsinto the locking reduction 30, the rocker arm 36 has reached the maximumwidth of the depression and further rotation of the drum causes equalrocking movements for each revolution and consequently equal width ofthe reenforced fabric.

The operation of my improvement will be readily understood from theforegoing description, the pattern control-mechanism as heretofore,acting at the proper time upon lever 8 to lower thethread-guide finger 5to needle engaging position, the intermittent movement of the latter foreach revolution of the needle cylinder being performed by cam drum 22variously rocking the arm 36.37; the latter through bar 39 and itsextension 44 depressing connecting rod 7 to actuate lever 6-to raise thefinger 5 each time the rocker arm rides upon the high surface ofthe'drum, and permitting the spring lowered finger to return to needleengaging position when the rocker arm falls into the depressed portionof the drum. Where reenforced soles are desired, the rocker arm 36 isheld in its locked position at the end of the screw actuated position inshaft reduction 30, so that the rot'ating cam drum' 22 will cause equalwidth reenforcement throughout the foot. At the end of thereenforcement, or before the beginning of the next, the automaticpattern control mechanism is adapted to actuate lever 54, the latterthrough link 53 lifting bar 48 to release nut-half 34 from its lockedposition in shaft reduction 30 to the action of return spring '56. a

The shape of the depressed portion 57 determines the shape to be giventhe reenforcement, and. may be varied as desired; and my improvement maybe readily applied to knitting machines without disturbing orinterfering with their other automatic operations. Modifications inconstruction will obviously suggest themselves, the essentialrequirement being the variable feed of the yarn to the needles duringsuccessive rotations of the needle cylinder 10. The desired operation ofmy improved machine provides for effecting continuous circular knittingof a seamless I tubular fabric with high-splice port'ons com-- prisingreenforcing thread interwoven in suc cessive courses for determinedlyvaried lengths only, and with unknitted free portions as in ordinaryhigh-splicing.

What I claim is: 1. In a circular knitting machine having a movableextra-thread guide finger; means for automatically swinging said fingerinto and out of needle engaging position during each of a series ofrotations of the latter, said means comprising a drum having aperipheral cam surface extending longitudinally thereof a distancecorresponding with the total spread of the courses knitted during saidseries of rotations and a maximum circumferential extent correspondingapproximately with that of 'a half-circle of needles, andafinger-swinging arm arranged to contact with a different portion ofsaid cam surface at each rotation of the cylinder to determinedly varythe maintaining of said finger in needle-engaging position.

2.In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextrathread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement of saidfinger'during each of a series of rotations of the needle cylinder, a.rotating cam drum actuating said rocker arm, and means for relativelymoving said drum and arm at each rotation to determinedly vary theneedle-engaging positioning of said finger. 5

3. In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextrathread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement of saidfinger during each rotation of the needle cylinderya rotating cam drumactuating said rocker arm, and means for transversely moving said armacross the face of the drum to vary the rocking movement in successiverotations.

4. In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextrathread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement of saidfinger during each rotation of the needle cylinder, a cam drum actuatingsaid rocker arm, and means for reversely moving said arm transverselyacross the'face of the drum.

5. In combination with 'a circular knitting machine comprisinga movableextrathread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement ofsaidfinger during each rotation of the needle. cylinder, a rotating camdrum actuating said rocker arm, means for positivel moving said armtransversely across the ace of the drum, and spring means for reverselymoving the same.

6. In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextrathread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement of saidfinger during each rotation of the needle cylinder, a rotating cam drumactuating said rocker arm, means for positively moving said armtransversely 7. In combination with a circular knitting machinecomprising a movable extrathread guide finger, a variable control devicefor said finger consisting of a swinging bar having a finger actuatingarm, a screwtraversed rocker arm having one end slidably bearing on saidbar and its opposite end movable lengthwise of a rotating drum, saiddrum having a diverging-wall cam surface adapted to variously rock saidmovable arm.

8. In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextrathread guide finger, a variable control device for said fingerconsisting of a rotating drum having a diverging-wall cam surface, aswinging bar having a finger actuating arm, a screw-traversed rocker armhaving one end slidably bearing on said bar and its opposite end movablelengthwise upon said drum, a locking device to retain the arm at the endof its screw traversed movement, and a spring adapted to reversely movesaid arm upon release of said locking device.

9. In combination with a circular knitting machine comprising a movableextra.- thread guide finger, a rocker arm controlling the movement ofsaid finger during each rotation of the needle cylinder, a rotating camdrum actuating said rocker arm, means for relatively adjusting said' armand drum with each rotation, means for determinedly retainin the arm indesired finger-controlling position at the end of such adjustingmovement, and means for returning said arm and drum to normal relativeposition.

10. In combination with a circular knitting stocking machine,'means forintermittently raising and lowering the high splicing finger of themachine and means cooperating with said means for modifying the actionof said means to cause said finger to be in operation for a successivelyincreasing period to thereby knit the high splice triangular inconfiguration.

11. A circular knitting machine, having needles and yarn guides,including a splic ing yarn gulde, a pattern mechanism vand means wherebythe latter may control the active and inactive positions of the yarnguides at different stages in the knitting in combination with anautomatically variable cam adapted to control the active and inactivepositions of the splicing yarn guide during each revolution of theknitting head.

12. A circular hosiery knitting machine, having needles and yarn guides,including a high splice yarn guide, in combination with means forproducing a tapering high splice during round and round knitting, saidmeans including a movable cam to throw said high splice yarn guide intoand out of operative position once at each revolution and automaticdevices to gradually vary the action of havin said cam to throw saidhigh splice yarn guide into and out of operative position for agradually changing number of needles at difi'erent courses through thespliced area up to approximately half the circle of needles.

13. A circular hosiery knitting machine, needles and yarn guides,including a big splice yarn guide, in combination with means forproducing a tapering high splice, said means including a movable cam andautomatic devices to gradually vary the action of said cam to throw saidhigh splice yarn guide into and outof operative position for aflgradually changing number of needles at di erent courses through thespliced area up to approximately half the circle of needles.

14. A circular hosiery knitting machine having needles and yarnsupplying fingers including a high splice yarn finger in combinationwith means for bringing the high splice yarn finger and needles into andoutof yarn engaging position, during round and round knitting, and meansfor graduallyv varying in difl'erent courses the number of needlessupplied with high splice yarn, up to approximately a half circle of theneedles, to thereby make the high splice tapering in configuration, withunknitted portions of the high splice yarn floated across the circle ofneedles at successive courses.

15. In a circular knitting machine having needles and yarn fingersincluding a high splice yarn finger in combination with means forautomatically swinging said high splice

